to have questioned the man upon the subject, and learned precisely
what he meant by such references; but forbore for the reasons above
stated. When at length Stukely cautiously hinted that the object of his
journey was the acquisition of wealth, the ex-priest, far from
exhibiting surprise or displeasure, displayed the utmost satisfaction,
and eagerly assured Phil that he could place him in possession of all
the wealth that he could possibly desire. Upon Phil asking where the
wealth was to come from, the Peruvian replied that when the country fell
into the hands of the Spaniards an enormous quantity of gold, silver,
and uncut gems had been concealed in a secret chamber of the temple of
which he had been a priest; that it was there still; and that he was
quite prepared to reveal the hiding-place to his English friends,
feeling assured that they would use it in the manner which had been
intended when it was first concealed. This again was a distinctly
cryptic remark, of which neither of the Englishmen could possibly guess
the meaning; but Stukely replied that Vilcamapata might rest assured
that they would employ it wisely and well; and with that answer the
Peruvian seemed perfectly satisfied. But when he was asked to describe
the whereabouts of the temple, he could only very vaguely indicate it as
being built on an island situated in the midst of a sacred lake; that
the lake lay at an immense distance to the southward, under the shadow
of a rather remarkable snow-capped mountain; that the way thither was
encompassed with dangers from wild animals, hostile Indians, and--worst
of all--Spaniards; and that, if they were fortunate, they might possibly
reach the place in about four moons of diligent travel. Four moons, or
months, of diligent travel! It seemed an immense distance; for
"diligent travel" through the virgin forest--and Vilcamapata gave them
to understand that a very considerable part of the distance would have
to be traversed by land--meant something like an average of fifteen
miles a day; and fifteen miles a day for one hundred and twenty days
meant a journey of eighteen hundred miles! But they were not dismayed;
for by this time they had come to have unlimited confidence in
themselves. They were daily becoming more learned in woodcraft, being
now able to traverse at least three miles of forest in the time that it
had originally taken them to travel one mile; familiarity had caused
them to lose completely th